New Delhi: A BJP member Tuesday attacked the government for pursuing Sethusamudram project alleging it is playing with the religious sentiments of the people.

"They have spent just Rs 800 crore and are playing with the religious sentiment of the people" Yogi Aditya Nath (BJP) said in Lok Sabha raising this issue.

He pointed out that there are a lot of thorium reserves there which could be affected due to this project.

The government had recently rejected the Pachauri panel report that says the project, which will cut through Ram Sethu, was not feasible on economic and ecological grounds.
In an affidavit filed before the SC, government had said that it had decided to reject conclusions and recommendations of the Pachauri committee.

In the affidavit, the government said it had already spent Rs 829.32 crore on the project as on June 30, 2012. Work on the project came to a halt in 2009.

Earlier, Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP) said BSc degree-holders should be allowed to open chemist shops in the country.

Saroj Pandey (BJP) demanded that Raipur airport be turned into an international airport for attracting foreign investment in the state.